The invention relates to a patient monitoring systems and methods and, particularly, to patient monitoring systems and methods for non-invasively monitoring cardiac output of a patient.
There is an ongoing need for medical equipment and procedures that allow for quick and accurate diagnosis of patient conditions. For example, in the context of myocardial infarctions, patients frequently arrive at emergency rooms of hospitals complaining of chest pain. The chest pain may be a symptom indicating the patient is experiencing a myocardial infarction or, alternatively, the chest pain may be a symptom indicating the patient is experiencing a lesser medical condition such as heartburn or indigestion. Statistics show that quickly identifying whether a patient is having a myocardial infarction and treating such condition may minimize the amount of damage to the heart. Therefore, there is an ongoing need for systems that can be used to quickly identify whether a patient has had a myocardial infarction.
Additionally, in the context of congestive heart failure, patients benefit from the use of intermittent inotrope infusions, such as milrinone. These infusions, while usually beneficial, are also costly and carry attendant risks such as dysrhythmias and infection, from both indwelling infusion catheters and pulmonary artery catheters used to document the necessity of inotropic support. Therefore, there is an ongoing need for systems that can be used to conduct a pre-assessment of patients scheduled for intermittent inotrope infusion to ascertain whether or not such infusions are needed.
Further, in the context of circulatory deficiencies, acutely ill emergency room patients often have circulatory deficiencies that ultimately lead to shock, organ failure, and death. Early diagnosis is often difficult and subjective, and therefore these deficiencies are currently diagnosed in late stages when therapy is ineffective. Diagnosing these circulatory deficiencies in their early stages allows the patient to be treated before the course of these deficiencies becomes irreversible. Therefore, there is an ongoing need for systems that can be used to assist early detection of such circulatory deficiencies.
It has been found that cardiac output monitoring is useful for diagnosing medical conditions such as those described above. Impedance cardiography techniques for non-invasive monitoring cardiac output are known in the art. However, existing devices that are capable of monitoring cardiac output are cumbersome to utilize. Therefore, improved patient monitoring systems and methods that are capable of monitoring cardiac output would be highly beneficial.
According to one preferred aspect, an embodiment of a patient monitoring system comprises a non-invasive cardiac output sensor, a multi-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, and a patient monitor console. The non-invasive cardiac output sensor being capable of acquiring a signal from a patient indicative of blood flow through a heart of the patient. The multi-lead ECG sensor comprises a plurality of ECG electrodes capable of acquiring a plurality of ECG signals from the patient. The patient monitor console includes an analysis module and a display. The analysis module is coupled to the non-invasive cardiac output sensor and to the multi-lead ECG sensor, and processes the signal from the patient indicative of blood flow to produce a value pertaining to cardiac output. The display is coupled to the analysis module, and displays the value pertaining to cardiac output and an ECG waveform generated based on the ECG signals.
According to another preferred aspect, an embodiment of a patient monitoring system comprises a non-invasive cardiac output sensor, a communication interface, and a patient monitor console. The non-invasive cardiac output sensor is capable of acquiring a signal from a patient indicative of blood flow through a heart of the patient. The communication interface is capable of establishing a communication link between the patient monitoring system and a local area network of a medical facility in which the patient monitoring system is located. The patient monitor console includes an analysis module and a display. The analysis module is coupled to the non-invasive cardiac output sensor, and processes the signal from the patient indicative of blood flow to produce a value pertaining to cardiac output. The display is coupled to the analysis module, and displays the value pertaining to cardiac output. The communication interface is capable of transmitting the value pertaining to cardiac output over the local area network.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following detailed description, claims, and drawings.